Thursday, May 18
Niles, Ohio
3 p.m.
Youngstown State University
vs
Wright State
Photo by: Robert Hayes
Penguins to Host Wright State, Thursday’s Series Opener Moved Up to 3 p.m.
5/17/2023 12:17:00 PM | Baseball
Youngstown State vs. Wright State
| Opponent | Date | Location | Audio | Live Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Thursday May 18 | 3 PM ET |
Eastwood Field Niles, Ohio |
YSNLive.com | Live Stats |
|
Friday May 19 | 11 AM ET |
Eastwood Field Niles, Ohio |
YSNLive.com | Live Stats |
|
Saturday May 20 | 1 PM ET |
Eastwood Field Niles, Ohio |
YSNLive.com | Live Stats |
Series Preview
- The Youngstown State baseball team (17-34, 11-15 Horizon League) will close out the regular season with a three-game Horizon League series against Wright State (34-18, 21-6 Horizon League) at Eastwood Field beginning on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET. The Penguins and Raiders will proceed to play on Friday at 11 a.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m.
- Live audio for all three games of the series will be available at YSNLive.com. Live stats will be available through links on YSUsports.com. Fans can also follow @YSUBaseball on Twitter for live updates.
- Senior right-hander Travis Perry is slated to start the series opener on Thursday, freshman left-hander Braden Gebhardt will take the ball in game two on Friday and freshman left-hander Cam Marshalwitz will start the series finale on Sunday.
- The Penguins have won 10 of their last 12 games after putting together an eight-game winning streak from April 25 to May 9. YSU won eight straight games for the first time since the 2005 season. The Guins earned their third straight Horizon League series win by taking two of three games at Northern Kentucky last weekend. YSU dropped a 13-4 decision against Akron at Canal Park on Tuesday in its final non-conference contest of the regular season.
- Youngstown State tied the single-game school record with six home runs as a team in a 12-4 victory at Northern Kentucky on May 13. The Penguins scored their first eight runs in the game using the long ball. YSU hit six homers in a game for the third time in school history and for the first time since May 6, 2001 at Oakland. The Guins also hit six homers at Cleveland State on May 8, 2000. Steven D'Eusanio led the home run barrage with two while Braeden O'Shaughnessy, Padraig O'Shaughnessy, Ian Francis and RJ Sherwood each went deep once.
- YSU hit 11 home runs over its final two games at NKU as it blasted five dingers in the 17-13 series-clinching victory on May 14. Senior outfielder Andre Good hit three homers on his own to tie the single-game school record for home runs. He became just the fourth player in school history to hit three home runs in a game. He is the first Penguin to blast three homers in a single contest since Lorenzo Arcuri at Morehead State on March 7, 2017.
- YSU has posted double-digit Horizon League wins in three straight seasons for the first time in program history. YSU went 21-36 in 2022 to achieve back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2005-06. The Penguins have not won at least 20 games in three straight seasons since doing it in four straight campaigns from 2003-06.
- YSU earned a 9-4 victory at Pitt on April 10 that marked YSU's third win over a Power Five opponent this season. It was also YSU's third straight win at Charles L. Cost Field and its fifth victory over the Panthers in the last eight meetings.
- The Penguins won their 2023 home and Horizon League opener with an 18-3 victory over Oakland at Eastwood Field on March 16. YSU set new season highs with 18 runs and 21 hits while winning its league opener for the third straight season. The Guins recorded at least 18 runs and 21 hits for the first time since March 21, 2021.
- The Penguins split a four-game series at Baylor on March 3-5. YSU's 7-5 victory on March 3 marked its first win over a Big 12 opponent since 2013. The Penguins now have five wins over Power Five opponents in the last two seasons and nine during Dan Bertolini's tenure as head coach.
- Senior third baseman Braeden O'Shaughnessy was named Horizon League Batter of the Week on May 9. He batted .462 and slugged 1.000 with six hits including four doubles and a home run in 13 at bats while leading the Penguins to the three-game series sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne.
- Redshirt junior shortstop Trey Law was named Horizon League Co-Batter of the Week on Feb. 28 after batting .556 and slugging .611 with 10 hits in 18 at bats over four games played at Memphis on Feb. 24-26. In addition, senior right-hander Travis Perry was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week after leading YSU to a 6-2 victory in the series opener at Memphis on Feb. 24. Perry allowed one run on two hits with a career-high 10 strikeouts over six innings.
- YSU ranks second in the Horizon League with a .280 batting average, 498 hits and 117 doubles while ranking third with 339 runs scored, 10 triples, 310 RBIs, 785 total bases, a .441 slugging percentage and a .368 on-base percentage.
- The Penguins have set a new single-season school record with 117 doubles as team. The previous record of 115 was set in 2010. YSU ranks 17th nationally in doubles while ranking 26th with 2.29 doubles per game.
- YSU's 50 home runs are tied the third most in a season in program history. This season marks just the fourth time in school history that the Penguins have hit at least 50 home runs – three of those occurrences have come in Dan Bertolini's tenure as head coach.
- Youngstown State has 177 extra-base hits in 2023, which already ranks as the second most in a season in program history. The Penguins finished with 174 extra-base knocks in 2021, and the school record of 183 was set in 2010.
- Senior right-hander Travis Perry ranks fourth in the Horizon League with a .254 opponent batting average and five wins, eighth with a 4.83 ERA and ninth with 63.1 innings pitched. Junior right-hander Nick Perez ranks seventh in the league with 65 innings pitched and eighth with 59 strikeouts. Freshman left-hander Braden Gebhardt ranks 10th in the league with a .281 opponent batting average. Gebhardt has 48 strikeouts on the season, which is the most by a YSU freshman since Collin Floyd had 58 in 2016.
- Senior first baseman Steven D'Eusanio leads the Horizon League and ranks 23rd nationally with 20 doubles while also ranking fourth in the league with 62 hits, seventh with 46 RBIs and ninth with a .307 batting average. D'Eusanio's 20 doubles are tied for the fourth most in a season in program history. He is the first Penguin to record at least 20 doubles in a season since Tom Clayton had 20 in 2007. D'Eusanio has hit safely in 28 of his last 36 games after putting together a 12-game hitting streak from March 11 to April 2. He is batting .339 and slugging .523 with eight doubles, four home runs and 34 RBIs over 26 games in Horizon League play.
- With six home runs this season, D'Eusanio now ranks fourth in YSU history with 25 career home runs. The Willoughby, Ohio, native is one of 10 players in program history to hit at least 20 career home runs. D'Eusanio also ranks tied for eighth in school history with 205 career games played. He became the 11th player in YSU history to play in at least 200 career contests.
- Junior infielder Trey Law leads the Horizon League with 78 hits while also ranking second with a .375 batting average and 17 doubles, fourth with a .444 OBP and fifth with 46 runs scored. Law has now hit safely in 41 of his last 45 games. He hit safely in nine straight games from Feb. 19 to March 5 before putting together an eight-game hitting streak from March 10-24. Law has now hit safely in a career-best 14 straight contests entering Thursday's series opener. Law is batting .358 with 39 hits over 24 games in Horizon League play.
- Senior first baseman Padraig O'Shaughnessy ranks third in the Horizon League with 35 walks, fifth with 49 RBIs and eighth with nine home runs. He also leads the league with six sacrifice flies. O'Shaughnessy's six sacrifice flies are tied for the second most in a season in program history.
- Senior infielder Braeden O'Shaughnessy ranks fourth in the league with 62 hits, eighth with 42 runs scored and ninth with 41 RBIs and 14 doubles. He is batting .357 and slugging .634 with 11 doubles, six home runs and 33 RBIs over 26 games in Horizon League play.
- Senior outfielder Andre Good ranks seventh in the Horizon League with a .540 slugging percentage and eighth with nine home runs. Freshman infielder Matt Thompson ranks 10th in the league with a .306 batting average. He is batting .315 and slugging .457 with three home runs and 18 RBIs over 24 games in Horizon League play.
- Senior outfielder Turner Grau leads the Horizon League with six triples while ranking fourth with a team-high 14 stolen bases. Grau has set a new YSU career record for triples with 14. With six triples this season, he has surpassed the previous mark of nine that had been held by Chris Durkin (1989-91) and Mark Thomas (1997-99). Grau also tied the single-season school record with seven triples as a sophomore in 2021.
Fan Information & Promotions
- Eastwood Field
- 2023 YSU Baseball Promotions Schedule
- Tickets for all three games of the series will be $5 and will be available at the front gate, which opens approximately one hour prior to first pitch.
- Thursday's series opener will feature a YSU T-Shirt Giveaway for YSU students.
- Friday's contest will be the annual Akron Children's Hospital of Mahoning Valley School Day Game with thousands of area students in attendance.
- Saturday's series finale will be Senior Day as YSU's senior class will be honored during a special ceremony prior to first pitch. There will also be $4 16-ounce beer available at the concession stand.
YSU vs. Wright State
A Win on Thursday Would...
- Give YSU its 18th victory of the 2023 season.
- Give YSU its 11th win in its last 13 games.
- Give YSU its third straight win in HL play.
- Snap an eight-game losing streak to Wright State.
- Improve YSU's Horizon League record to 12-15.
- Be the 353rd in head coach Dan Bertolini's career and his 124th at Youngstown State.
Scouting The Raiders
- Wright State is 34-18 overall and 21-6 in Horizon League play after sweeping Milwaukee in a three-game league series last weekend. The Raiders have won nine straight games to claim the Horizon League regular season championship and serve as the host for the upcoming 2023 Horizon League Tournament.
- Sophomore outfielder Andrew Patrick is batting .340 and slugging .716 with 17 doubles, 17 home runs, 49 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Junior outfielder Jay Luikart is batting .303 and slugging .497 with 12 doubles, eight home runs and 30 RBIs. The Raiders rank third in the Horizon League with a .278 team batting average.
- Sophomore left-hander Sebastian Gongora has an 8-1 record, a 3.01 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 74.2 innings pitched over 13 starts. Junior right-hander Jake Shirk has a 5-4 record, a 4.46 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 74.2 innings pitched over 13 starts. Wright State leads the Horizon League with a 5.10 team ERA.
Series History
- Overall: Wright State leads 92-39
- Home: 17-41 // Away: 19-50 // Neutral: 3-1
- Bertolini: 6-27
- Current Win Streak: 8 by Wright State
- Last meeting: April 15, 2023
- First meeting: May 19, 1977
- Wright State has won eight straight in the series after sweeping YSU in a three-game series at Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton earlier this season.
- The Raiders won all five meetings between the two teams in 2022. YSU's last win in the series was an 11-10 series-clinching victory at Eastwood Field on March 28, 2021.
- Youngstown State and Wright State met every season from 2002 to 2019 before the conference slate was wiped out in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Up Next
Following its three-game series against Wright State, YSU will turn its attention to the 2023 Horizon League Baseball Championship, which will take place May 24-27 at Wright State's Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton, Ohio.
Players Mentioned
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/ BaseballTuesday, February 11
Tuesday, February 11
